Altoona police officers give out hams instead of tickets

Friday, December 22, 2017
Bridget Curran | WQOW

Altoona (WQOW) - Officers from the Altoona Police Department gave out hams instead of tickets on Thursday.

An anonymous donor gave $500 to the Altoona Police Department, who bought 26 hams to give out to members of the community. Probable cause had to be present before police conducted a traffic stop, but then, a potential ticket was replaced with a smoked ham.

"The goal is to share the 26 hams with random people in our community, in hopes to bring 26 smiles to their faces on Christmas," said Jesse James, chief of police for the Altoona Police Department.

Officers dubbed the operation "Ham a Merry Christmas".

This isn't the first time the Altoona Police Department has participated in something like this. In 2014, officers handed out $100 to traffic violators, thanks to a different anonymous donor!

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